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U.N.L.V. Star Is No. 1, and Even He Is Surprised

Presiding over his last N.B.A. draft before he steps down as commissioner in February, David Stern soaked in the usual chorus of boos when he walked onstage at Barclays Center on Thursday.

For decades, Stern has served as an annual visual gag, with his height, perhaps a tad exaggerated at 5 feet 7 inches, serving as a sharp contrast to the supersized players he was introducing to the world. In his 30 years on the job, player fashion varied wildly, but Stern remained a constant.

Before Stern could say goodbye, the 2013 N.B.A. draft had some intrigue. At No. 1, the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled a surprise by selecting Anthony Bennett, a power forward from Nevada-Las Vegas, rather than Nerlens Noel, a player talked of as a future No. 1 pick since he was in high school.

The selection of Bennett, a big-bodied rebounding specialist who is expected to be an excellent pick-and-roll partner with Kyrie Irving, drew huge cheers from the crowd.

Bennett is the seventh player born outside the United States taken with the first overall pick and the first Canadian. In his lone season at U.N.L.V., Bennett averaged 16.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 53.3 percent from the field.

Bennett seemed humbled by the pick, leaving himself open to big accomplishments in the future but remaining realistic about the current state of the Cavaliers.

“I just want to be successful, win championships,” Bennett said. “And, you know, just win games.”

It was the fourth consecutive year in which a freshman went with the top pick. Over all, freshmen have gone first in six of the last seven years.

Noel tried to remain upbeat. Most mock drafts had him going first despite concerns about his recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, his slight 206-pound frame and his raw offensive game. Instead, Noel sat in the players’ waiting area in the center of the arena, trying to remain calm, until he was taken with the No. 6 pick by the newly renamed New Orleans Pelicans.

Photo

The Cleveland Cavaliers surprised the N.B.A. by selecting Anthony Bennett, a power forward from U.N.L.V., with the first pick in the draft.Credit
Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

“You have to take the next step,” Noel said when asked if he had regrets about how things played out. “Not look too much on the past.”

It immediately seemed an odd choice for the Pelicans, whose center is last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Anthony Davis, a one-and-done freshman from Kentucky like Noel.

There were reports shortly after the selection that a trade was agreed upon that would send Noel to the Philadelphia 76ers. In exchange for Noel, the Pelicans would receive Jrue Holiday, an All-Star point guard; a protected 2014 first-round pick; and the No. 42 pick in this year’s draft.

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The situation caused confusion in Noel’s interviews; he discussed the possibility of playing alongside Davis before changing gears and discussing how he would fit in Philadelphia.

“I’m just staying positive about everything,” he said.

Many players in this draft class were deemed N.B.A.-ready but lacking upside, a label that Damian Lillard turned on its head last season. Taken with the No. 6 pick, Lillard went on to win the 2013 rookie of the year award.

Victor Oladipo, a shooting guard from Indiana taken No. 2 by the Orlando Magic, could be a candidate for a similarly smooth transition to the pros.

At 6-4, the tenacious Oladipo averaged 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds a game, helping the Hoosiers earn a No. 1 seed in the N.C.A.A. tournament. He became the first Indiana player selected in the top five since Isiah Thomas, who went to the Detroit Pistons with the No. 2 pick in 1981.

Oladipo did not even have a chance to get to the interview room before Indiana had another top-five pick, Cody Zeller, who was taken by the Charlotte Bobcats at No. 4.

“I was cheering just as loud as everyone else,” Oladipo said of Zeller’s selection.

For the players, Thursday represented the beginning, but for Stern the night was one of his last public outings before he hands the reins over to the league’s deputy commissioner, Adam Silver.

Before the final pick of the first round, a video tribute to Stern’s draft history was shown. But the man who helped build the N.B.A. since being brought in shortly after graduating from law school in 1966 was not asking for any applause. He repeatedly raised his hands throughout the night, asking for more Bronx cheers from a Brooklyn crowd.

But as he walked out to deliver his final pick, the crowd stood and cheered, chanting his name. The torch officially passed to Silver, who came out to join Stern onstage and was greeted with a chorus of boos.

A version of this article appears in print on June 28, 2013, on Page B16 of the New York edition with the headline: U.N.L.V. Star Is No. 1, and Even He Is Surprised. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe